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Rheumatoid lung disease - Symptom

Alternative Names

Lung disease - rheumatoid arthritis; Rheumatoid nodules

Symptoms:

Shortness of breath
Cough
Chest pain
Fever

Additional symptoms that may be associated with this disease include the following:

Joint swelling
Joint stiffness
Joint pain
Skin nodules

Signs and tests:

The doctor may hear crackles when listening to the lungs with a stethoscope (auscultation). Or, the patient may have decreased breath sounds, a rubbing sound, or normal breath sounds.

The following tests may show problems consistent with rheumatoid lung disease:

Chest x-ray
CT scan of the chest
Echocardiogram (may show pulmonary hypertension)
Needle inserted into the fluid around the lung (thoracentesis)
Bronchoscopic, video-assisted, or open lung biopsy

Bronchoscopy

Respiratory system

Reviewed last on: 3/13/2007
David A. Kaufman, M.D., Assistant Professor, Division of Pulmonary Medicine, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, NY. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network.

References

Strange C, Highland KB. Interstitial lung disease in the patient who has connective tissue disease. Clin Chest Med. September 2004;25:549-559.

Zrour SH, Touzi M, Bejia I, et al. Correlations between high-resolution computed tomography of the chest and clinical function in patients with rheumatoid arthritis. Prospective study in 75 patients. Joint Bone Spine. January 2005;72:41-47.